The entire commercial film industry is internalised fascism: Ketan Mehta

The entire commercial film industry is internalised fascism: Ketan Mehta

Ketan Mehta is not the easiest of people to interview. Half the interview takes place on the steps of the Jhangir Art Gallery on an early monsoon morning while the steps are being swept. Mehta does not feel comfortable in five-star hotels, hence the steps and talking in the rain.

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MADHU JAIN

August 15, 1986

ISSUE DATE: August 15, 1986

UPDATED: February 7, 2014 13:35 IST

Mehta: working for a synthesis

Ketan Mehta is not the easiest of people to interview. Half the interview takes place on the steps of the Jhangir Art Gallery on an early monsoon morning while the steps are being swept. Mehta does not feel comfortable in five-star hotels, hence the steps and talking in the rain. The other half, in the Sea Lounge where Mehta, soft-spoken and relaxed despite the five-star ambience, spoke to Principal Correspondent, Madhu Jain, about his new Rs 20 lakh film Mirch Masala. Excerpts:

Q. There are a lot of red chillies in your film. What all do they mean?A. There is a lot of cultural power attached to red chillies. Mirch is a part of many of our rituals; it stands for fertility, sensuality. It is a good omen but it is also used in black magic. Mirchi also stands for revolt.Q. Mirch Masala has a quality of folklore about it. It is almost lyrical as a dramatic form.....A. Holi had a more tribal narrative structure than this film. It is false to transport categories of international cinema to ours. Labels don't stick to me. One is trying to arrive at a synthesis of one's own folklore, dramatisation, bold usage of colour. My film is an attempt at indigenous, wider synthesis. And it is a tribute to the cinema of the '40s in India - films like Tukka Ram, which are independent of western films. In fact, the early '40's were very rich times. German expressionism came to India in the 40s; Shantaram was also trained in Germany. There was a strange synthesis during those days. From Parsi theatre to Shakespeare to our own folk theatre and narrative arts. Progressive writers came in. Unfortunately nobody tried to consolidate the gains of that period; it all became lumpenised or reduced to formula.

Q. What does the subedar in Mirch Masala symbolise?A. Externally he is the symbol of the system - an alien, oppressive system. Internalised, he symbolises the violence within us all. That is why it is impossible to turn him into a black and white oppressor. As far as the villagers go he has power, class. But, by himself he only pretends to be all this, he is just a weakling. All of which makes him more dangerous.Q. Not too unlike Hitler who loved opera and the finer things of life. The subedar's love for music and his marvellous gramophone on the beach make him almost likeable..A. Exactly. I have attempted to turn him into a metaphor, an allegory. The gramophone is as much a symbol of power as is the subedar. It is the awaz of the sarkar, it is power through technology-alien power. But the oppressor is often glorified. There is a secret empathy with the oppressor. Fascism, not just as a political system but with all its cultural and psychological paraphernalia should be rejected. But Fascism is present in the compromising, reactionary and parochial tendencies ripping us apart. The entire commercial film industry is internalised fascism.

Q. In what way?A. It is based on a simplistic understanding of society. It offers simple solutions and allows the common man to submit to a mindless vulgar fantasy.Q. In your film the men are weak; only the women have the spirit of rebellion. Are you saying that only women can bring about revolution?A. It is coming from the most oppressed of the time, from the people who feel it the most directly. And it is coming as the result of life experience.... Throwing mirchi or banging thalis symbolises resistance in our culture; both are in the domain of women. But gut resistance is not just limited to women alone.

Q. Rituals appear to fascinate you.A. I would like to break through all labels. My films are an attempt at a contemporary understanding of our life experiences. In the East there is a collective cultural consciousness.

Q. This explains the use of stereotypes in your films....A. I have been accused of using stereotypes. The chowkidar in this film is the keeper of the conscience, the masterji who wants swaraj, the tyrannical subedar, the pujari, the seth, the oppressive landlord - these are arch-types or stereotypes. They generate associations which are understood. There is no reason not to use them. But one has to give them complexity.

Q. Colour is almost a character in your film.A. There is a deliberate use of the volume of colour. Indians react to colour differently. In Rajasthan and Gujarat the pink and orange are a splash on the monochrome golden brown of the landscape; our use of colour is so inhibited. But colour can be oppressive as well, like the red in the film.

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